A Girl Ranger
by GuiltyBystanders
Summary: Will meets a very spirited and determined girl desprate to be a Ranger. She makes it her mission to annoy him until he lets her join the Rangers, but will she be able to convince everyone that women should have a role as Rangers? Humor just because I think it's funny myself, T because there is a little violence. Anyone have an idea for a better title? My first fan fiction.
1. The Arrow

Will whistled a tune as he rode back to Castle Redmont. He was in high spirits, having just solved the problem of a pesky group of bandits. He was lost in thought when an arrow appeared inches from his face, deeply embedded in the tree truck across from him, barring his way. Tug backed up a few steps involuntarily.

"Make me your apprentice," demanded a figure cloaked in a homemade Ranger's cloak. The hood didn't hide the squat, ugly looking bow that shot the arrow swimming in Will's vision.

"Um, I really don't know how to answer that. You are obviously willing, and a good shot," stuttered Will, taken aback by the strange conversation.

"I'm a good unseen mover too, and I'm ok at knife throwing even though I only just started learning," replied the figure, deadly serious.

"Um, ok, I will keep you in mind if I ever get an apprentice. What is your name? I will need it to find you," said a still baffled Will.

"Oh, uh, I'll be here. You don't need my name," the figure said too quickly and started to back away. Will's arrow pierced the cloak, pinning it to the ground. The figure struggled to free it, but it was to no avail.

"What is your name?" asked Will, deadly serious. The figure sighed deeply and gave one last tug on the cloak before answering.

"Ellya." It came out as a sign, so quiet Will thought he must had misheard. He got down off of Tug and walked over.

"Ellya? What kind of name is that?" Will asked cheerfully. He pulled back the hood of the cloak and stared for a few seconds. "A girl's name it would seem." She stared back at him with her forrest green eyes through a thick mop of shiny black hair. A calloused hand, the hand if a worker or warrior, pushed her hair out of her eyes, all while she refused to break eye contact with him.

"Make me your apprentice," she said. "I invented a bow that will let me shoot as far as any man without needing as much strength. I can go undercover as a women. Make me your apprentice," she said, very quiet and very serious.

"I'll, uh, I'll think about it. Check in with the others," Will said, grabbing his arrow and racing back to Tug. She sighed deeply.

"I suppose that will have to do for now."


	2. The Tree

Will looked around suspiciously. He was passing through the woods nearby the cabin he had met the strange girl who wanted to be a Ranger. He had decided to take a different route that was less effective but wouldn't get him shot. He heard a slight rustle of leaves overhead, but was too well trained to look up and give away that he had heard something. It might have been a bird, but it might have been a pesky girl who was stalking him. Usually, stalking a Ranger meant instant apprenticeship if the stalker wanted to join, but Will was fairly certain no girl had ever asked to join. "Maybe I ought to ask the others at the Gathering next week to see what they think," he mused silently to himself. "They would know what to do." He saw the slightest flash of a cape in the very corner of his eye. He almost expressed his annoyance at her stalking ways, for he now knew it was Ellya, when he realized just how good she was without formal training, and decided to let her continue to follow him. This went on for a while, him monitoring her and her following. For the most part, he was impressed, but it was getting on his nerves a little, and he suspected that if they went much further, she would ask him to take her home just so she could argue her case about why she would be a great Ranger. Will finally was unable to contain his urge to shout at her.

"Stop following me!" he bellowed, seemingly at thin air. The other people on the road, who were traveling in the opposite direction, stared at the ranger and wondered if he had lost his mind. A figure appeared in the trees, startling the other travelers, who hurried away as quickly as possible.

"Make me your apprentice," Ellya shouted back, hanging upside down on her branch, her hair and cloak falling straight down.

"I'll ask about it at the Gathering next week, ok?" he asked, then wondered if it was wise to tell her when the Gathering was. He shrugged mentally. "She could never find the Gathering, so why even worry about it?" he thought.

"Works for me. Tell them early so they can see if they have to plan anything differently since you _will_ have an apprentice next year," she said assuredly. She was confidant because she knew if she could sneak into the meeting where they decided her fate, there would be no way they could ever turn her down. It would be incredibly difficult, but she knew she could do it. "Mind giving me a ride home? It's a little far away, and I could tell you about my special bow design..." Will raised his eyes to the sky in a way that obviously meant "Why me?" and galloped away. Ellya swung from branch to branch, high in the treetops all the way to her house, already scheming on the best way to follow a Ranger to the most jealously guarded spot the secretive group had. The hardest part would be convincing her mother to let her take the horse.


	3. The Plan

Will tried to sneak by Ellya's cabin, he just couldn't contend with her determination. She didn't make a sound when she heard Tug walk by, and he didn't see her staring at him through the curtains, standing like she had all night so she wouldn't miss Will when he passed by. She grabbed her strange looking bow and supply bag, and flung her cloak around her shoulders. She had convinced her mom that she could go a week without the horse, so she jumped on him, having already saddled him, a old grey animal named Dust that looked emancipated despite the fact he was well fed. Dust was once named Slate, but when he became old and slightly decrepit, his name was gradually changed to Dust.

There were no forks in the road for a very long way, so for the time being Ellya didn't have to worry about missing a turn. She rode as long as she felt was safe for Dust, not as long as she hoped for, though she supposed that Will would find it harder to realize she was trailing him. She hoped she didn't lose him and end up wandering around in circles, looking for a place only a few people knew about. She knew those few people would never tell where the Gathering Grounds were, even if she did find a Ranger or ex-Ranger. There was a chance she would be accepted as a Ranger's apprentice if she didn't go through with her plan, but if she did, she had a hard time believing anyone would go against her becoming one of them. She led Dust to the tree line and curled up against him for protection against the cold, for his sake as much as her own. Her cloak was thick and warm, and it brought her comfort as she traced the places were she sowed blob-shaped swaths green fabric on a brown cloak. She smiled as she remembered the time she realized there was too much brown on her cloak for it to be a real Ranger's cloak. She had been so upset at the time. Now, she was grateful for it, because it caused her to realize that unseen moving wasn't magic, but skill. It was what made her realize she could actually be a Ranger one day, not just play act at being one. That was the thought that made her train to be a Ranger, and that made her not give up on anything, related to Rangers or otherwise.

In the morning, she had a flash of brilliance. She took fistfuls of mud and smeared Dust's ragged coat with it. He looked at her with a look of deep betrayal.

"It's not that bad. Man up, or rather, horse up," she said with a smile, sticking moss and leaves in the sticky dirt. She galloped on the edge of the trees, relatively hidden but with a good view of the road. By noon, she could see a hooded figure with a long bow riding on a shaggy horse. "A Ranger," she thought. She was very lucky that he was walking his horse. There was no way Dust could keep up with a Ranger's forced march. The Ranger, Will she presumed, stiffened and looked back, as if he sensed her presence. She sat stock still, to Dust's delight, and eventually he moved on. She trailed him as close as she felt comfortable doing. It would be a disaster if he caught her, though he might take it as a sign she was the perfect candidate to be a Ranger, inquisitive and irrepressible, but her plan was more fun. She grinned slightly maliciously. The Rangers wouldn't know what hit them.


	4. The Tent

When Will and Ellya finally reached the little trail that led to the Gathering, Ellya was at a loss. The trees were too close together for her to ride Dust through the forrest, and she would be laughably noticeable if she took the path. She couldn't leave Dust unattended, he could get stolen or injured. She thought it over and realized he wouldn't get stolen way out in the wilderness and that he would just sleep the whole time, making it very unlikely that he would injure himself. She knew she was making lame accuses, but what choice did she have? She tided up Dust in a clearing by a stream and plenty of fresh grass before sliding from tree to tree. She moved more silently and carefully than ever before. She felt like by moving so slowly she would surely be seen, but she knew that logic said the opposite was true. Besides, Rangers expected the other Rangers to sneak up on them from the ground, not in the air. She felt as though a week had passed when she finally saw the campground, and for a fraction of a second panicked because she thought all the tiny figures of the Rangers were packing up not setting up, but then logic kicked in again and her tensed body relaxed. She grinned ear to ear as she climbed down the tree, shimming down when there were no more foot holds, continuing to grin somewhat insanely as she slinked toward the tents, skulking in the shadows. She was lucky, because the one place Rangers let their guards down was at the Gathering, feeling safe since only Rangers and ex-Rangers knew where it was. A bonus to her plan being that now that she knew where the campground was, if they didn't make her a Ranger they would have to find a new spot to meet each year. She froze as voices drifted nearer to her.

"I have a matter I would like to discuss with all the senior Rangers tomorrow. It's not too important but truly baffling. Could me meet tomorrow morning in the Command tent?" asked Will, and Ellya couldn't believe her luck. She would know exactly when the meeting would be! She hoped she hadn't used all her luck on this trip, though it certainly seemed like she would if she continued at this rate.

"Hm, how's eight time-wise?" Crowley asked. "Crowley!" she thought, awed at being so close to the leader of the Ranger Corp."Perfect," Will replied, and he and Crowley parted ways. Ellya snuck back to the trees to wait till nightfall.

When the sun had set and the air cooled, Ellya skulked through the camp, slipping noiselessly into the Command tent. She stood for a minute, judged which area would be the most shaded around eight, then curled up in that spot. She felt jittery and excited. "I'll never get to sleep!" she thought in dismay with a hint of excitement. Despite her beliefs, she was deep asleep in half an hour, till she was awoken by the smell of coffee and the sound of people waking. She stood up, realized from the light and shadows it was almost eight, and got in a position she knew was comfortable now but would immediately become torturous as soon as anyone walked in and she couldn't move anymore. Sure enough, she felt an intense need to shift when Gilan, Halt, Crowley, Will, and a few other Rangers she didn't recognize walked into the tent and took their places.

"What's this about Will?" asked Gilan. Will looked a little unsure how to start.

"Um, I met a... person who wants to become a Ranger. Good shot, great unseen mover, apparently good with knives."

"Why are you telling us this? If you want an apprentice, you just come up to me and tell me you are going to get one," said Crowley. The others nodded in assent. Will looked distinctly uncomfortable, to Ellya's malicious delight.

"Well, because she's a girl." Silence filled the room. Will pressed on slightly desperate, slightly embarrassed. "She said she invented a bow that will allow her to shot as far as any man and she is the best untrained unseen mover I have ever seen." One of the Rangers Ellya didn't recognize spoke up.

"I don't know, could a woman handle the responsibilities?" Halt spoke up, a little angrily because this whole conversation reminded him a little of his wife, and he hated nothing more than people insulting his wife.

"I think a women could. Women can also go undercover easier that a man could." Ellya didn't risk smiling, but she felt a glow of happiness and satisfaction at his words as she thought "Exactly!"

"How good is she exactly?" asked Crowley. Ellya thought "It's my time now!"

"Why don't I show you?" she said as she stood up gracefully, throwing back her cloak to revel herself, savoring the shock on their faces.


	5. The Chance

She knew she needed to strike again before they put up their defenses. She wheeled around, pivoting on one foot to face Will."

Make me your apprentice," she said, parroting herself. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water a few times before answering her.

"Um, that's, uh, that's really up to them," he answered, taking a step back and raising his hands to his chest defensively. She pivoted back to face the rest and put on her best "Well, I'm waiting," expression.

"You planned this!" Gilan accused Will, who shook his head vigorously in disagreement with the sudden wave of slight hostility directed at him.

"I didn't! I felt like someone might be following me and I did see a tree branch shaped like her funny looking bow, so I suspected she might sneak up to me and ask again, but I didn't expect her to go so... full out on this," he said, still in a defensive position. Halt had been watching her as the scene unfolded and had observed her look of delight as things played out. He decided he liked her as he saw her grin at Will's discomfort. He wanted to ask her a couple questions, but decided to let Will stew in the unpleasant feelings for a few more minutes. Crowley, however, wasn't so keen to let her get away scot free.

"What it you had heard something confidential while waiting in here?" he asked her slightly angrily.

"I knew I wouldn't. You passed right by me when Will asked when to schedule the meeting," she said. "Nice turning the heat back on Will," thought Halt absentmindedly."Right by you, you say?" Crowley said. "Uh huh." she said, not that he needed verification. He remembered something moving in the corner of his eye and him dismissing it.

"What a coincidence."

"I know! I almost couldn't believe my luck!" "I don't believe it either." This triggered a round of loud arguments where everyone but Halt and Ellya spoke. Ellya walked up to him.

"Hello. I'm Ellya. You must be Halt. It's an honor to meet you." Halt hid his surprise masterfully, extending his hand for her to shake it to give him a couple seconds to think of a reply.

"Enchanted. Why do you want to become a Ranger so badly?"

"Well, I suppose it started when I was very young..." Slowly, the arguing Rangers noticed Ellya and Halt's civil conversation and stopped to listen. "Do you mind not eavesdropping? I am trying to speak to Halt here," Ellya said, trying her best to sound a little miffed. They started to mumble apologies before realizing she was joking and their sentences stuttered off.

"So... tell us about yourself," Crowley said lamely. She gave a thin smile.

"My name is Ellya, I am nineteen, I wanted to become a Ranger after my father died in the second battle against Morgarath because I found out that Rangers saved thousands of people like my father, I grew up as a farmer, I trained myself to be a Ranger, I invented a bow that uses a pulley system to reduce the draw weight to allow me to shoot farther, my favorite color is blue and ancient horse in the meadow by the front of the forest is named Dust. Can I be a Ranger now?" she said sweetly, tilting her head and giving begging eyes.

"Well, I suppose we would have to measure your potential with a couple tests." she frowned.

"Do you do that with all potential Rangers?"

"Well, no," Crowley conceded, "but you are a special case, are you not?"

"I suppose I am. When can we start?"


	6. The Tests

A couple Rangers watched with interest as the senior Rangers left the tent. There had been a lot of yelling. There were a couple sounds of confusion as one more person than the people who went into the tent came out. One of the younger Rangers called out to them.

"No one told we it was bring your daughter to work day!" he shouted mock-accusingly at them. The others gasped when they realized he was right, that the extra person was indeed a girl.

"It isn't. It's bring your maybe-apprentice-without-telling-anyone-else day,'' said Gilan tossing his head towards Will.

"No, it's be-stalked-by-your-maybe-apprentice-then-get-blamed-for-it day," Will replied.

"A girl wants to be a Ranger?" someone asked and soon everyone was talking with each other on wether a girl would be a good Ranger or not.

"We already know you are good at unseen movement, but we have to test your archery skills, knife throwing skills, and critical thinking skills." Crowley said as he slowed down a little to walk next to her.

"Sounds good to me," she replied, looking around the camp at all the Rangers in well hidden awe. Halt smiled. Her shoulders were thrown back, her stride was confidant and easy, but her eyes had a hint of nervousness in them. She followed them to the archery course.

"Let's see this magic bow of yours," Crowley said, leaning back as she strung the ugly weapon.

"I call it a compound bow," she said, notching an arrow with ease. "It uses a pulley system to reduce the draw weight," she continued as she walked up to the starting line. "That makes it easier to be accurate from farther away and makes me able to shoot from farther away," she finished as she released a volley of arrows, fast for a non-Ranger, but slower then nearly everyone at the Gathering. Nearly all the arrows found their mark, the bullseye or the ring directly around it, a few on the outer rings. Someone whistled. "Good enough?" she asked in a sweet voice contradicted by the rebellious stare and toss of her head.

"I suppose it will have to do," said Halt with a half-smirk. She turned to him with a cold look on her face and a look of complete joy playing in her eyes.

"What's next?"

Knife throwing was not nearly as dramatic. Ellya had only just started learning how to throw them, so she missed several times, and didn't get a bullseye, though a couple got very close. She didn't have a pithy remark when they passed her, and she chose instead to stare at the targets with a look of dissatisfaction. The spring returned to her step when they went over critical thinking skills. It was like the tests they devised for apprentices, where they had to figure out a problem with only a few limited resources. This is where they learned that she was not only intelligent but also terrifyingly ruthless, and that being a beautiful young woman opened up a lot more doors for her.

"How would you get past the guard?" said the annoyed Ranger who was testing her.

He had been throwing all his toughest questions at her, yet she hardly ever hesitated on coming up with an effective idea, though a few were not the most original.

"Just one guard on this door? I'd seduce him or pretend to be a lady-friend of the lord of the castle. I might even use some of that alcohol I took from the guards at the first gate to offer to him. When he lowered his guard, I would knock him out and hopefully find a place to hide his body or tie him up with something if I had the materials or time." The instructor shook his head before continuing the test.

""I'd hate to be an enemy of the Kingdom with her in the corps," He said when they finished, shaking his head in admiration. Ellya struggled to keep the smug look off her face.

"Very well. Senior Rangers, testers, and Will, let's meet in the tent and deliberate if she can be a Ranger or not," Crowley said as they all filed in to the tent. Ellya stood in a sea of unfamiliar people, so she naturally started to blend in with the background unconsciously. Of course, this didn't work with Rangers, and soon a small crowd gathered round her.

"You really think you got what it takes to be a Ranger, girl?" asked a boy who looked old enough to be in his last year of apprenticeship.

"Yes, I do, and I have yet to find any evidence to the contrary," Ellya said back, studying him. She didn't ant to seem hostile, but she didn't to seem weak either.

"Pretty little girlies like you don't belong in this world. You belong in the kitchen or bedroom mak..." he was cut off when Ellya roundhouse kicked in the face. He staggered back and shouts of confusion filled the air. Halt poked his head out of the tent only to see everyone backing away from Ellya and blood gushing from the broken nose of a particularly simpleminded and annoying apprentice. He didn't say anything, only raising one eyebrow in question.

'"I felt like my wellbeing was being threatened and defended myself," Ellya called to him. Halt smiled, nodded, and went back into the tent.


	7. The Boy

Ellya had taken to pacing anxiously. Nobody was coming near her after she broke the nose of that bigger, older, stronger apprentice. The deliberating seemed to drag on like a malnourished pony dragging a sack of bricks behind it. She wished they would just decide already. "It isn't like it's that hard of a decision," she though sourly. "I aced the tests, I know where the meeting spot is, I actually want to be a Ranger, and being a girl opens possibilities for me to go undercover that the others don't have. My special bow and accuracy without formal training compensate for my lack of brute force, and Rangers don't do much hand to hand combat anyway. Besides, I'm pretty handy with a knife." Then she filled with apprehension, wondering if she should have told them that. As she tried not to think about it, it seemed to become incredibly crucial. It took all her willpower not to walk into the command tent and announce the fact she was proficient at knife fighting to everyone inside. A boy who looked old enough to be in his third year of apprenticeship despite his diminutive size walked up to her and cleared his throat, breaking her nervous obsession with knife fighting.

"Um, hey, I, just, um, wanted to say that, uh, what you did to Brendhi was pretty impressive," he stuttered uncertainly. She smiled at him.

"Well, he was begging for it. It might have been in a subtle manner some people don't understand, but he was actually asking me to break a bone in a long-lost art of communication. I didn't think that that many people knew that coded language. He must be abnormally intelligent," she said with a sarcastic smirk. She assumed that Brendhi was the boy who she kicked. The apprentice smiled back, beginning to look like he didn't think she would tear his head off.

"Extremely intelligent. I've never met a human more devoted to knowledge and learning as he. Everyone really respects his brains, they say he might be leader of the Corps one day, leading us on to a glorious path of enlightenment with his brilliance," proclaimed the boy, striking a dramatic pose. He was a small boy, short with a light build, and he had long dark hair and big grey eyes. "I'm Nikolas, third year apprentice." He extended his hand and she took it, shaking it.

"I'm Ellya. The important people are deciding if I can be a Ranger right now." He smiled at that, now completely at ease.

"I'm surprised that Brendhi's posse didn't try to attack you for hurting him. That's very unlike them."

"Maybe they didn't want to hit a delicate girl like me. Or more likely, they were so shocked they didn't react right away and they're plotting horrible revenge as we speak. Maybe my display of physical prowess will impress them so much they respect me, or at least won't mess with me, but more likely they didn't learn their lesson from Brendhi. One can only guess." Ellya said philosophically. "I expect they will be showing up any minute now, ready to beat me to a pulp. That type doesn't get clever revenge, or waiting to take revenge, or planning anything out at all really."

"True, true." They stood in silence for a few moments until Nikolas's eyes widened. "Unless, there is a chance that one of them, a smarter one, is controlling them now that Brendhi is gone. He always kind of controlled them, using Brendhi as a puppet when he could, but usually that whole group is too wild to control without bute strength most the time. But there is a small chance he somehow wrestled control of them and is actually planning something bad."

"Like what?" asked Ellya skeptically.

"Like breaking your bow, hurting your friends, humiliating you someway, alienating you from the other Rangers, destroying something dear to you, all of the above, all of the above plus beating you up. Whatever he can think of." Ellya thought for a second, then started running. Nikolas followed, a little confused and very worried. She had obviously brought something dear and now had to see if the posse had found it. When she reached the tree line, she paused for a split second, listening for pursers before launching herself at a branch high up in a tree, flying into the air before dissolving before his eyes. He blinked. He knew she had had no formal training, but she was the best unseen mover he had ever seen that wasn't a fully fledged Ranger, and she was better then most Rangers that he had seen. He slipped through the forrest, underneath her and ten feet behind her. He marveled at how she could swing from limb to limb yet still seem so invisible. He was on the constant lookout for any followers that might bode ill, but he didn't hear or sense anything. They made it to a clearing where a unhealthy old horse stood, looking unimpressed by the two humans that seemed to materialize in front of it's very eyes. It tossed it's head as if to say "Yeah, yeah, I've seen it a million times." She checked on him, and the contents of the saddlebag while Nikolas looked away discretely. Finally satisfied, Ellya beckoned to him that it was time to leave.

"Make sure to cover your tracks," she called back softly, already running high in the trees on a particularly thick branch. He did so with care, not wanting to lead a trail straight to the leverage Brendhi's posse so desired. When they got back, nothing had changed. A few people raised their eyebrows at two teenagers, a boy and a girl, came out of the woods together, but quickly decided neither out them were "that type". Ellya and Nikolas talked for about ten more minutes before a boy, average size for a normal person but bigger then most Rangers, approached them.

"You better come with me, girlie," he growled in an attempt to be intimidating. Ellya just raised an eyebrow,

"Why ever would I do a silly thing like that?" she said in the most conflicting mix of sweetness and menace.

"Because we have something dear to you."

"Really? How interesting. Whatever is it, and, why should I care?"

"Your pretty little pony. What a frail old thing, almost anything could kill it."

"I'll just get a new horse when I'm a Ranger."

"You'll get a new horse _if_ your a Ranger, and your family won't"

"Fine," she said with a puff, sounding more exasperated then worried. She followed the larger boy, who stopped Nikolas with a shove.

"Not you."

"Aw man, but I wanted to see her beat you all to a pulp. You're no fun." Ellya grinned at him.

"I'll bring back a tooth as a souvenir."

"I suppose that will have to do," he said with a sigh.


	8. The Decision

In the command tent, the conversation was looping around and around. It was so tiresome Halt felt as though each loop was a lap he was running. At first, everyone but Halt, Gilian, Crowley and Will had either been unsure or against it. Soon, all but two Rangers were convinced that Ellya would make a terrific Ranger. They had seen that she was abnormally good at Ranger work, from practice and natural skill, but the two remaining Rangers, one pompous and stubborn, the other all around unpleasant, refuses to back down. The stubborn one just didn't want to admit he was wrong, and did feel superior to women. The unpleasant one had never had much luck with the ladies and had taken a deep rooted dislike to them because of it. The loop started again andHalt's eyes began to droop.

"She's the best untrained Ranger any of us have ever seen!" Will exclaimed for what must have been the fourth time.

"But she's a woman. They can't be trusted. And they are weak!" snapped the unpleasant one.

"She has proven herself to be anything but weak and men are just as prone to be unfaithful," said the scarred Ranger sitting in the corner.

"But..." The conversation slipped on at a mind numbing pace. Halt focused all his energy into not punching the idiots still fighting logic. He didn't think he could take much more of it.

* * *

Ellya was smiling her most charming and terrifying smile at the boy. He was to stupid to be terrified.

"What's your name? Mine's Ellya," she swayed slightly from side to side and used a childlike tone when talking to him, painting the perfect picture of an innocent youth. At least, she would have if she wasn't so well-armed and well-muscled.

"Thay," he said gruffly. He looked at her from the corner of his eye and decided she was actually pretty easy on the eye. "It's really a pity we have to destroy that beauty. She would have made a decent serving girl or servant of some kind," he thought. She was smiling at him so widely. Was she flirting with him? It sure felt like it to Thay. "Perhaps she thinks she can get out of trouble if I take a liking to her. If she hadn't stepped out of line for Bredhi simply telling her the truth about her place in life as a woman, I might be tempted to take her up on that idea." She kept looking at him. "It won't work, girlie," he thought to himself.

"How did you find my horse?" she asked him.

"You can move without being seen or heard by normal folk, but we can to, and we aren't normal folk." Ellya thought about that and decided she spent so much time being the hunter she didn't know how to make sure she wasn't being hunted herself. They broke through the trees into the clearing, a group of a dozen apprentices waiting, looking very angry.

"Huh," she said, her brow furrowing as she thought "I guess it was good that I didn't specify if it was one of my teeth that I'm bringing back, or one of theirs."

* * *

Halt finally couldn't take it.

"Enough!" he screamed as he slammed hid fist on the table. The pompous fool looked very affronted at being cut off so rudely. "Why did we even let you two join the Corps, let alone give you senior positions? Out there is someone who wants to be a Ranger, is physically capable, has invented a type of bow that could improve the Corps, has a brilliant mind and positively oozes natural talent. This choice should be simple." The pompous fool mumbled assent after a few seconds, but the unpleasant one tried one last-ditch effort.

"Physically capable?" he sneered.

"Physically capable to break your apprentices nose when he was harassing her." The room was still for two seconds before everyone burst out laughing. The unpleasant one questioned her self control and sanity, but it was to no avail.

"She's in just for that," wheezed Crowley through his laughter. Voting didn't work like that, but everyone nodded assent, chortling over the increasingly shrill cries of the unpleasant one.

"Little girls don't belong in this world! They belong in the kitchen or bedroom ma..." Halt punched him in the face, then caught him by the collar of his shirt as he fell, pulling his face red with blood to Halt's face, red with anger.

"Two things," he growled. "One, women, like Ellya or my wife, belong in any world they wan to be in. Two, she isn't a little girl. She's a Ranger's apprentice now." Halt let go off his shirt, causing him to crash to the ground, then went outside to tell Ellya the good news.


	9. The Fight

**Note: A few people have told me in very respectful ways that my characters are out of character, and those people are completely right. It's just really fun to write them that way, so that's what I'm gonna continue doing.**

* * *

Ellya stood up as tall as she could, trying to look imposing, though she doubted in any of them would be scared if the most terrifying girl in the world was swinging a sword and charging at them. Not because they were brave, but because they didn't see the deadly potential of a woman warrior. They all jeered and booed her as Thay prodded her forward. They formed an aisle, leading up to the smallest boy there. He had the face of a rat, and ratty brown hair to match it. His eyes were sharp enough, but filled with cowardice. She knew when an enemy was dangerous, and why, and he wasn't very worrisome. He didn't have much control over the other boys, and he didn't actually seem smart enough for her to worry about. He lacked a certain cunning and the respect of the others to pose a huge threat. She got the feeling that if she angered him, perhaps with a joke abut his size, he would lose control and order the others to attack, but a few boys would suddenly question if they really should be following the orders of someone who was so small. Ellya knew she needed to make a joke and put him on the defensive before he made his impressive and dramatic speech.

"I didn't know they let this many idiots into the Corps," she called out to them, riling them up, making them harder to control all while showing she wasn't afraid of them and depriving Ratty of his speech. The jeering grew louder and a few boys growled. Her eyes picked up on a few boys who didn't seem that into it or like they were resenting being there, and she made eye contact with each one for a few seconds, making each one feel a connection to her, each perhaps thinking that she was asking for help. These being the sensible boys, they understood that it wasn't a damsel in distress call for help, but rather more of a call to arms. Most the boys looked like they understood and one nodded.

"Ellie, Alla, whatever your name is, it's really nice of you to join us," purred Ratty, which should have been a contradiction to his very rat-like nature. "That's his impressive speech? Seriously?" Ellya thought. Before he continue on from his theatrical pause, Ellya answered.

"Well, as a subordinate, meek, useless female it delights me to be in the company of so many wise, powerful males." She curtsied as she said it, spreading a nonexistent skirt and refusing to break eye contact with Ratty. "What do they call you, oh strong, all-knowing man? Ratty? Pint Sized? Something that really, what do they say, captures your essence." His face went red.

"My name is Alton, and how dare you talk to me in that manner? Someone should teach you a lesson!"

"Isn't that why I'm here? Or are we just gonna chat about how much we don't like each other. That might be right up your ally." His skin turned red and his eyes bulged out ever so slightly. "But, let me guess, since you are such a great warrior you're gonna fight me yourself? I mean, the only way to get this much respect from this many Rangers, you must be a helluva fighter." A few other boys grumbled unhappily, lead on by the five boys she recruited to be on her side.

"My strength lies in my brain, something you obviously know nothing of. But how could you? You're a girl!" He said with a superior huff, puffing out his chest, looking like an idiot. Ellya didn't hide the fact that she thought he looked like an idiot, though she did make it look like she was trying to hide it but failing. That way, by seeming a little less amused by how stupid he looked, she made it seem like she thought he looked even more ridiculous then she did.

"Yes, I am a girl. And you are an idiot," she said slowly, as if speaking to a child, and he flushed even darker.

"Enough chitchat!"

"You're the one talking, shorty."

"Get her!" Sure enough, a few boys paused who weren't one of her five allies, unsure if they really wanted to take orders from Ratty. Three of the boys did charge unquestionably, shouting battle cries and trying to look tough. Luckily for Ellya, they all reached her at different times. The first one ran face first into her fist, the second straight into her outstretched leg. She ducked the punch of the third, crouching then twisting around lightning fast, kicking him in the stomach. The second one started to get up so she kicked him in the ribs, just hard enough to tell him not to get up. Two more boys started to surge forward, but were stopped by the rest. She turned to Ratty, who looked at her in terror. She gave him a look, half smirk, half girlish innocence, that chilled him to the core.

"So, Ratty," she began.

"It's Alton," he mumbled.

"Whatever. So Alton," she said with exaggerated care, stepping closer slowly, menacingly. "Would you care to tell me why, exactly, you're messing with my horse?" He gulped and looked panicky.

"Well, funny story, that is. We just happened to see you come visit this, lovely, beautiful, wonderful horse, and me felt honor-bound to avenge our friend, so we told you to meet us out here by him. Did Thay say we were going to hurt him? Because we weren't, I swear it!"

"No, you were gonna hurt me," she said with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, yes. But, but we had to! There's a code about these things you know? We, we didn't _want_ to, but we _had_ to. You understand?" He ended with a weak smile.

"Oh, no. I don't understand anything that complicated. You see, I happen to be a girl, and that sort of thing is really beyond us." The glimmer of hope in his eyes died. She punched him, a strong, clean pinch that shattered his long, pointy nose. He fell to the ground, crying out pathetically. The senior Rangers stepped out of the trees.

"What? You were there the whole time? And you didn't stop her? She's mad! You can't let her near me, near any of us!" squeaked Ratty through the blood filling his mouth.

"Don't speak about my apprentice that way!" demander Will, and it took Ellya a couple seconds to register the full meaning of his words.

"Really? That's great! We are gonna have so much fun together, shooting stuff and stopping crime," Ellya began. Will turned to Halt.

"What did I get myself into?" he asked imploringly.

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**What do you guys think? Should I continue to write about her adventures or stop while I'm ahead? Please, do tell.**


	10. The Death

**Ok, I started out in good mood when writing this, then got stuck and didn't like where it was going, and ended up getting death-obsessed and soul search-y. I'm not sure about this chapter, so please review and tell me what I should do with it. I might just delete it... Enjoy!**

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Ellya stood, poised to attack, her entire being thrumming with deadly power. She was a lioness, a huntress, the spirit of the wild. Will walked to the cabin, humming the same song he had hummed on the day they first met. He looked just as unsuspecting as he had on that day as well. Despite the fact she had been his apprentice for a month and a half, he still wasn't used to watching from attacks from above. He was carrying a stack of firewood, winding his way along a deer trail in the forest. Ellya jumped down in front of him, cawing like the worlds largest and most obnoxious crow, spreading her cloak like wings. Will jumped back, dropping the wood and drawing his knife, a wild look in his eye, when he saw who it was. He sheathed his blade, but the wild look didn't go away completely. "Sheathing and seething," thought Ellya, still giddy at his reaction.

"You have to stop that!"

"You have to be prepared!" she retorted. She cackled madly and turned cartwheels down the path in front of him, as he stooped to pick up the fallen branches.

"Whatever. Just go draw some water or something," Will grumbled.

Ellya had taken to life in Redmont seamlessly. She got along with Alyss and Lady Pauline, and Halt already liked her. The idea of a girl Ranger raised a few eyebrows, but when some Battle school apprentices were found beaten to a pulp after loudly proclaiming they were going to "show that girl her place," most of the questioning stopped. She wasn't fully excepted, but it was close enough. The flip side to the dislike was the hero worship from many girls and constant flirting from just as many boys. The hero worship, she could work with, using it to get them to question their place in the world and realize that they could be warriors too, the flirting, she was at a loss for what to do. Constant praise of her beauty, occasional praise of her strength or ferocity, never once praise of her sharp mind or cunning, boys fought over who would get to talk to her next. She always stopped the fights. They didn't make her favor any of them anymore, and they made her uncomfortable. As warlike as she was, she much preferred peace and harmony. Despite the amount she spilled, she thought bloodshed should be avoided until it was unreasonable not to fight, which, admittedly, was a point she thought much sooner then the average person thought. Still, the flirting and fighting over her ordeals made her uncomfortable. Because all the boys thronged around her in town, she took to the forest like a nature spirit or wild woman. She slipped through the forrest silently, because she liked to see all the animals go about their normal lives. The birds called over head and she soon heard the babbling of the stream. She swung her pail around her arm, she had brought it with her when she waited to scare Will knowing that he would send her to fetch water, and slid up to the slippery banks, stopping before she slid in. She put the bucket in the clear, running water and surveyed the beautiful scene around her, filled with quiet content. Then she heard twigs snapping and the unmistakable sound of someone trying to be quiet as they snuck around. She stood, pulling the brimming bucket from the water, muscles tensed just in case, but, as she expected, it was just a boy from town coming to bother her.

"Hey Ellya. Do you want me to carry that back for you?" he said with a slight stutter.

"No thanks, Charles. I'm good." Out of all the boys fawning over her, Charles was one of the better ones. He wasn't arrogant, respected her as much as he liked her, liked her partially because of her personality, and didn't seem to believe that fighting over her would do any good. He realized she didn't like him they way he liked her, and so he contented himself with being her friend instead. They walked back to the cabin together, talking about the latest town gossip and trivial things when a knife whizzed through the air, slamming into his throat. He spluttered on his own blood before falling over, the forest dirt becoming a dark maroon from his blood. Ellya froze, using her cloak to become invisible, looking for the one who killed her friend so coldly, determined to end them with just as little emotion. Charles might have been a lovestruck fool, but he was kind and good at heart. Ellya snuck around, going toward the way the knife had come from, but she found no one. If their was someone there, they had to as good of an unseen mover as she was, and she was slowly becoming unparalleled. Now, only Gilan and one other Ranger were better then her. Admittedly, she wasn't as good as seeing other people as she was as disappearing, but she should have been able to see anyone who wasn't Ranger good. That meant that she was going crazy, or that Charles had been killed by a Ranger or professional assassin. There was no one in the trees, and throwing knives were not long-range weapons. Her head was spinning. She had been around death, been affected by death, before, but the reason she wanted to be a Ranger was to never feel so helpless against it again. What she had told the other Rangers about wanting to help people like her father was completely true, but it was only half the story. She wanted to stop the death of innocent, and she wanted to be able to protect herself from death, and the only way to do that was to be a knight, a member of city watch, or a Ranger. But despite her best efforts, death had struck down something near to her again. Charles and her weren't best friends, but they knew they could count on each other. And yet, she couldn't stop him from departing from this world. She shook herself. She, Ellya the warrior, Ellya the fighter, Ellya the Ranger, was panicking. She realized that she couldn't do this alone, and bolted back to the cabin, grabbing Will by the shoulders and mumbling incoherently.

"What?"

"Charles! He's dead! But I couldn't find the killer! I couldn't!" she babbled. Without a word, Will followed her back into the woods.

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**If you want an example of my mood, how I originally ended the chapter was: She realized that she couldn't do this alone, and bolted back to the cabin, where Will lay dead. :). I kid you not, I actually put a smiley face. Now you see where I was coming from this chapter. Please, tell me if it was any good at all. I'm obviously not in the mood to judge for myself.**


	11. The Mourning

**Once upon a time there was a girl who wrote a fanfic for The Ranger's Apprentice. It was pretty good, a little sloppy with dashes of OOC moments, but overall it was solid. One day, that girl got a polite review gently saying that her character was a Mary-Sue. The girl thought "I'm going to ignore this helpful constructive critique, continue writing, take a huge break, start another story (which I will still mostly be focusing on more), and forget about that." Then, when the girl decided it was time to finally update, she reread the story to get inspired. When she got to the trial chapter, she started barfing and her computer exploded. She vowed to destroy the evil she had created, and revised the chapter so her character wasn't so overly perfect. She then went on youtube and forgot to update again. The End.**

**What you can get from this is that I revised a bit. Nothing major, no need to read the new revisions, and she is still a little bit of a Mary-Sue, just not as bad. I am going to keep my OOC moments, because I'm lazy, and, really, how would they react in that situation? Nothing like it has ever happened before. Anyway, expect updates to be few and far between. The only reason I'm writing now is thanks to the wonderful advice of K. Bradshaw and Memmola. I wish I could use all your ideas, but I couldn't without forsaking sense. Also, I want to explain why Ratty and the others were let in the Corps. Because not many people wanted to join, the Corps always needs new recruits, and since Ratty and a few others were willing to join and the Corps needed new people, everything just clicked (also he was fun to write about). Some of the others, well, in this vaguely Medieval time period, most people were probably sexist, because that's how the world works.**

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Will and Ellya combed the woods for hours. Ellya had got a grip on her emotions, and converted her panic to a dark, relentless energy. She looked more then ready to kill, she looked like she eagerly awaited doing so. Will was worried about his apprentice, but he knew it would be best not to talk to her just yet. After the light began to fade and they still hadn't found a trail, they headed back to the cabin to talk over what happened. Will was just as baffled as Ellya about how they managed to kill him. There was one thing the could hope to answer; motive.

"He could have been involved in something criminal, but Charles is... wasn't that type. He could have seen or heard something that he wasn't meant to," Will listed off the possibilities, which gradually became more wild and unlikely and he had to stop. "I think that's about it."

"You missed one." Will looked at her in surprise. She hadn't offered an idea the entire time, but had just sat there listening, arms wrapped around her legs like she was trying to curl up into a ball while sitting up.

"What?"

"You missed one. You missed the one where it's my fault."

"What? I don't thi..."

"No, you aren't thinking. It makes sense. Someone was sending a message to me. To go back to being a farmer's daughter. It seems just as likely as your more lucid ones, and is a lot more likely then a few at the end." Will didn't say anything for a bit, at a loss for what to say for once.

"Even if that were the reason, it wouldn't..."

"Be my fault? Yes, yes it would. They would be using him as a pawn to get to me." Will opened his mouth to speak. "But even then it wouldn't be my fault because I didn't want it to happen? Yes it would be. He was there because of me, and since I didn't stop it, and I was the reason it happened, then it would be my fault." Will opened his mouth to speak again. "But this is all assuming that the reason it happened was to spend a message to me, and that it might not be, so we should check out the other options too and either way you still don't think it's my fault? I do agree with you on the first part. We can question his family when we go to console them. In fact, we're doing that right now," she said as she stood up. Will still didn't have time to say anything before she walked out the door.

* * *

They had sent his body home earlier, and the sound of grieving filled the block. Ellya squirmed inside, guilt devouring her her determination to figure everything out as fast as she could. She didn't want to face his family, but she owed to him, her fault or not. She knocked on the door, being enveloped by candlelight and the arms of Charles's mother as the door opened. Her guilt grew, rearing like a horse. She didn't want to comfort his mom if she was responsible, but she pushed those feelings down. She owed it to him to catch his killer, even if it meant doing things she wasn't proud of. She and Will stayed the whole night, comforting his family, reminiscing on the good times, trying to forget the bad. At nearly two in the morning, Ellya finally pulled James, Charles older brother, aside.

"I need to catch his killer. Is there anything that you could think of that could've gotten him in trouble. Did he mention hearing something, seeing something, anything like that? Is there any reason for criminals to target him?" James shook his head wildly, and she saw in his eyes he was hiding something. "What is it James? I can tell you're hiding something from me. I need to know in order to catch his killer."

"No no no no no, the only thing that would attract criminals is..." he searched for something to blame, "you." The realization dawned on him, and in his drunken, grieving, sleep deprived state, he found something to blame that wouldn't make his brother look bad. "It was your fault wasn't it? They killed him because he was with you! How dare you come to our house, to his house, and console us when it's your fault in the first place?"

"What... What are you talking about James?" Charles's mother asked.

"It's her fault! They killed him to send her a message!" he screamed as he lunged at her. Ellya reacted on instinct, jumping out of the way, grabbing his arm, twisting it behind him, pulling him closer, and bringing her saxe knife to his throat. Charles's family gaped at her, and after she realized what she had done, she started to lower the knife and let go of James.

"I..." she started to say before Charles's mom cut him off.

"No! Don't you dare speak! You get my son killed, then come down here and pretend to be sorry about it, keeping it from us, and then when my other son figures it out you try to kill him too? I always knew there was something wrong about you, playing warrior, wanting to be a man, but I never expected... GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE RIGHT NOW! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN, BITCH!" Ellya stumbled backwards, turning and retreating as all her worst fears about his death got voice by his family. As she disappeared into the darkness, Charles mom turned to Will. "You don't trust her. She's twisted that one. And if you continue to investigate Charles, I'll turn the town on her. You know I could do it, with all the boys angry at being turned down, all the mothers scared about the delusions she put in their daughters heads, and the fact she came from a different fief, it would be child's play. Leave my Charles alone, or else."


End file.
